Page 85 of The Viscount's Promise
She sat perched on a pale gray couch, a stream of sunlight illuminating her. She looked a veritable angel. The copper of her hair shone brilliant, her porcelain skin seeming the finest alabaster. She looked up from the book she was reading at his entrance and a faint pink stained the curve of her cheeks. She didn’t smile; they had agreed that it would be best if they made it appear they had never met the evening before, had never come to an understanding. For love of her brother.
Even so, her pewter eyes shone with her joy. It took everything in Malcolm not to go to her, to take her in his arms, and kiss her senseless.
“Get on with it then,” Willbridge grumbled. “We haven’t got all day.”
Malcolm didn’t give his friend a second glance. He hurried forward, bowing first to Imogen, who sat in a separate high-backed chair, before he returned his attention to Emily.
“Lady Emily.” He took up her hand, pressing his lips to her fingers, before he handed her the bouquet.
“Thank you, my lord. They are lovely,” she murmured. Her eyes never left his.
They stared at one another for several long moments before Imogen came forward. She took the flowers from Emily’s hand. “I’ll have the housekeeper put these in water for you, dear. Why don’t you take a seat, Lord Morley. I do believe there’s room beside Emily.”
Malcolm didn’t need further urging. As he settled in, he saw Imogen and Willbridge talking in low tones near the drawing room door. “I certainly will not leave them alone,” Willbridge said, leveling a glower on Malcolm before he crossed his arms over his chest and planted his feet wide.
So Willbridge would not leave, would he? Malcolm’s lips quirked. Just as well, for he and Emily had planned a script for this little farce. All to appease her brother.
He turned to her. Her eyes were wide and patient. And filled with such love he thought his heart would burst from his chest then and there from the happiness filling him. Suddenly the script, the theatrics they had planned, didn’t mean a damn thing. All that mattered was this woman, and that the world knew she was his.
He dropped to his knees before her. Her eyes flared in surprise. Behind him he heard Imogen’s faint gasp, heard Caleb’s low growl. Not giving a damn, he took Emily’s hands in his.
“In the space of weeks, you have turned my very world on its head. So many small things happened to lead me to you. I thank God that Willbridge married, that I made that asinine promise to him to watch over you. Without those things, I would never have seen the true jewel you are, would not have found the partner of my life. The other half of my soul.”
“So this is my fault, is it?” Willbridge grumbled before Imogen’s loud shush quieted him.
Malcolm hardly heard a bit of it, so focused was he on the woman before him. Her face shone with her happiness, her eyes alight with love. His throat grew tight, and he swallowed hard past the sudden lump there.
“If you entrust your heart to me,” he rasped, “I promise you I will spend the rest of my existence making your happiness my priority. I vow, here and now, to never knowingly give you a moment’s pain, to make certain every minute is filled with as much joy as you give me right now. I love you, with everything I was, everything I am, and everything I ever will be. Lady Emily Masters, will you marry me?”
Before the words were out of his mouth, Emily launched herself forward. Her sweet arms came about him, her lips met his. He vaguely heard the faint sound of a door closing, and then all else faded.
Some time later he raised his head to look down on her smiling face. Tears tracked down her cheeks like crystals. He tenderly wiped them away. “Is that a yes, then?”
She laughed shakily. “I do believe you know the answer to that, as I gave it to you last night. And now that you have given me your promises,” she continued, her voice growing husky, “I have some of my own to give to you.”
To his shock, she slid off the couch to kneel in front of him. Taking up his hand in hers, bringing it to her lips, she said, her voice solemn and thick with emotion, “I promise that you will never have reason to doubt my love for you. That I will take the heart you have entrusted me with and cherish it forever. That you will never again have to walk this life alone.”
It had been a lifetime since Malcolm had cried. He did now, without embarrassment or shame, letting the tears fall freely down his face. Emily gazed up at him, her own eyes shining. She gently wiped away the moisture from his cheeks.
“That wasn’t fair,” he said softly, his voice hoarse with emotion. “It’s the woman who’s supposed to cry at these things.”
“It’s your own fault, you silly man,” she said with a small smile. “I was quite content with the promises we made to one another last night. Though I admit,” she continued huskily, “I’m very glad you went off script.”
He pulled her close. “Seeing as we’ve been left blessedly alone, do you think you’d be willing to go off script again?”
She happily obliged, dragging his mouth back to hers. Sealing their promises with a kiss.
